20 June 2017

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia deployed Sukhoi fighters on June 18 at a base in the northern island of Borneo to strengthen security in case Islamist militants in the Philippines try to flee southwards.

Didik Krisyanto, the head of the air base in Tarakan, a town in North Kalimantan province, said that three Sukhoi fighters will remain for a month from June 16 to prevent radicals fighting the Philippine military in Marawi city from escaping to Indonesia.

Indonesian naval authorities asked local people, including fishermen in border areas facing the Philippines, to report any suspicious people.